After a brief period of speculation and expectation, Apple late last week refreshed its MacBook Pro range of notebook computers.

This new range sees a strong demarcation within the range, between the 13-inch model, and the 15- and 17-inch models, as ever in the processors on-board, plus the two larger models offer more power in graphics processor. The 13-inch MacBook Pro provides a choice of 2.3 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 processor, or a 2.7 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7 processor.

The 17-inch has a 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 processor, and like the 15-inch packs a AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics processor.

Probably the biggest news is that the new Apple MacBook Pros are the first device to use Intel’s Light Peak technology, now called Thunderbolt. This new technology will allow 10 Gbps of throughput in both directions. That’s 20 times faster than with USB 2.0, and over 12 times faster than with FireWire 800.

What will Thunderbolt work with? In Apple’s words:

The Thunderbolt port will give you plug-and-play performance with a whole new world of Thunderbolt peripherals, as well as with the Apple LED Cinema Display and other Mini DisplayPort peripherals. You can daisy-chain as many as six devices, including your display. And with support for video and eight-channel audio, it’s easy to connect HDMI-compatible devices — like your TV and home stereo — using the HDMI adapter you already have. Current VGA, DVI and DisplayPort adapters are also supported.

MacBook Pro pricing

The standard configurations are listed below. Customisation options include faster quad-core processors up to 2.3 GHz, additional hard drive capacity up to 750GB, solid state storage up to 512GB, memory up to 8GB DDR3, plus antiglare and high-resolution display options and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

Scott Fitzgerald started TechStyles in 2010, after 5 years of running the GadgetGuy website, so gadgets and tech have been a big part of his life for quite a while now. Prior to that he edited the Macquarie Dictionary, Travelmate.com.au and NeeditNow.com.